Full Throtle
by HieisWoman
Summary: This is a HieixOC Yaoi.Takes place right after the last episode.Hiei is sent on a mission and has to take Botan with him,right when he starts his rut.Read and find out what it is that happens to our fav.fire yokai.Trust me youll love this fic.R&R People!
1. Chapter 1 The Mission

Kevan: Three words, Hiei's, in, _the-hat!_

Toni: That's four words, and Hiei's in_ heat_!

Kevan: Nuh-uh! He's in the _hat_ and I can pull him out _by his hair_ like a _little evil bunny!_

Toni: What are you _talking about?_

Kevan: I don't _know_ I made a _type-o,_ I was just _trying_ to coooover-it-up, _Yo! _o0

Toni: Hmm, Hiei as an evil bunny. _You're_-a-_genius_!

Kevan: It's _Genius-sess_ to _you_, and I said "_little_ evilbunny"!

Toni: _Genius-sess?_

Kevan: Yes like _prince_ and _princess_, only with _genius_! **_Oh_**! I made up a word!_ I'm going to put it in the **dictionary**!_ (Runs out of sight, runs back with a highlighter)

Toni: (Looks at Kevan with a strange look) A highlighter?

Kevan: Yeah! So!? Don't judge me woman!!!

Toni: (Slips into dreamland) Hiei in heat, heh-uh-heh! (Drolls-slurp)

Kevan: And I thought I was special. --;

Toni: **_On_** with the **_story_**!

Chapter One

The Mission

It was a busy day today and the Raikai was no exception. An assortment of Oni were busier than bees, running around with paperwork, answering phones, and becoming somewhat of an obstacle for a lone figure that stalked through the aisles. His destination being at the other end of the large room that served as office space for the Oni, to their boss' and his former boss' own office.

He didn't want to be here, but koenma, his former boss, was the only one with the resources to help him. Otherwise he wouldn't have gone thought he trouble to get here.

A reasonably high-class demon had slipped passed the defenses to a portal and got into Ningenkai. He was held responsible. Because, before the demon slipped out of Makai and into the human world, he had slipped passed Hiei. He and some troops under his command had been sent by Mukuro to destroy the said demon and his followers. The demon and his underlings had been threatening to overthrow Mukuro; and supposedly they had allies on the inside. So Mukuro had sent Hiei with a few of her solders to deal with the problem before it got out of hand.

Because of this, now Hiei was walking through the automatic doors that lead to the godling's main office. To his disappointment no one was in the room. Not that he missed the annoying toddler, but he had been hoping to ask for some assistance on finding the rogue demon. He sat down to wait in a chair smaller and opposite to the big cushy one that Koenma usually sat in.

He wondered if the small prince had grown any since the last time he had seen him. Now that he thought about it he hadn't seen any of his former teammates in, he calculated in his head, it was almost three years now. His sentence for patrolling the Makai borders had been cut short. Mukuro had needed him in his role as her general sooner than the sentence ended, so it was canceled.

As he continued to think about the team he had to correct himself, he had seen two of his ex-teammates: one, about two years ago and the other just last year. The first was the former spirit detective, Yuske he had surprised him with a visit out of no where; showing up at Mukuro's just to see how he was doing. That and he had said he had needed to get away from those bald demon advisors of his. Then at the beginning of last year Kurama had come to Mukuro's territory, he had finally left his mothers house and was on vacation from high school. He had figured it had been a long time since they had seen each other and was curious as to weather his dear friend was still alive and kicking. A sparing match between the two friends answered that quickly.

Hiei had been so absorbed into his thoughts that he didn't notice that someone had entered the office. So when he heard Koenma call his name he was a tad startled.

"Hiei!" the young prince called out again getting the demon's full attention. Hiei just sat there looking at him.

"Hiei, why are you here? What do you want?" Koenma said trying to hide the fear from his voice and wishing George wasn't on vacation. Hiei stood up and said nothing, but smirked as a squeak came from Koenma because of his sudden movement. Then he handed him a letter from Mukuro explaining why he was there and what he needed. The toddler sighed in relief as he finished reading. He had tried to sound annoyed but failed.

"Alright Hiei," he said a bit more composed, "go to Ningenkai and get Botan, by the time you two get back I should have found something on your demon and where he might be. Oh, and make sure to take your time."

"Why do I have to retrieve the onna?" Hiei asked displeased, he had wanted to show up, perhaps wait a bit for the information, and go.

"First you need a guide; I doubt you know your way around Ningenkai as well as Makai. Second I Can't let you, an ex-criminal roam free around Ningenkai not knowing where to go. Third, I don't want to get in trouble with my father for not following the rules, ever since I backed up Yuske against his wished, he's gotten stricter." Koenma explained scratching his head nervously.

Hiei growled, obviously peeved, but he needed the information and to be able to look around Ningenkai without any trouble from Raikai. So he let out a heavy sigh and asked where Botan was most likely to be found.

"Probably still at Genkai's. They were on their to the beach on her land when I left." He was about to mention that the whole team was there, but Hiei had already left.

"Take your time!" He shouted out hoping that the demon heard him.

It didn't take long for Hiei to arrive at the temple. When he got there though he could sense not only Botan but also everyone else that had been part of the team in the direction of what he presumed was the beach. Everyone was there but the former leader of the team, Yuske, and Genkai but he had already sensed her back at the temple.

When he got there, he had taken his time; he could see that his presumptions were right. It was the beach and Yuske was nowhere in sight. He could see everyone from where he was, Botan and his sister Yukina among them. He couldn't help but feel a twinge in his chest when Yukina asked Kaiko,

"Do you think I'll ever be with my brother?" He doubted the human girl's response,

"I think you will when he's ready. Now have fun. That's the one thing about sunsets. They make you think too much."

He had to fission up into the tree he had been standing next to or the oaf's sister would have found him out. Not long after Yuske showed up and from everyone's reaction, Hiei realized that they must not have seen him since before or after the Makai tournament. Knowing it would take a while before the reunion ended; he made himself comfortable for a nap. But he didn't get far something was thrown at him. He could see it, a rock? He couldn't avoid it without getting out of the tree. He leaped down, landing soundlessly on the ground.

"Hiei! Quit being such of an unsocial bastard and get our ass over here!" It was Yuske, he _couldn't_ have guessed.

"_Hiei?"_ Everyone seemed to whisper in union. With hiding no longer an option, the said demon came out of the shadows. He couldn't help but sigh in defeat, but coming out of hiding had been worth all of the shocked faces. Surprisingly Kuwabara was the first to approach him, looking dead serious even though he was soaked to the bone from the water fight he had earlier.

"What baka?" Hiei grunted.

Then out of nowhere Kuwabara grabbed him and gave him a skull crushing nuggy.

"Ha! Gotcha! You have no idea how long I've waited to do this! Welcome back shorty!" He yelled happily, before Hiei managed to pry him off. His already gravity defying hair was a mess, it looked like he stuck his finger into an electric socket. The glare he was sending the group for laughing/snickering at him was blocked as Yukina stood in front of him, her hands above his head. She had fixed his hair as best she could and was now giving him a hug saying,

"Welcome back Hiei." Fake sniffles and 'awe's filled the silent afterward. Hiei could see Yuske, Kurama, and Botan pretending to wipe away tears. He glared over Yukina's shoulder, sending unsaid death threats. Kuwabara seemed uneasy, probably jealous. When she finally let go he pat her head with the slightest hint of a smile, he didn't know what else he could have done. After that Yuske popped his head between them and had a wild grin on his face.

"Hay, Hiei I know you just showed up and all but none of us brought matches or a lighter, Shizuro's doesn't work any more, I know surprised me too. So would you do us the honor of lighting the bonfire? When we get it set up and if you agree." Hiei was about to just up and refuse, but then saw the pleading eyes of Yukina, and found himself slightly shocked as he sighed and nodded.

"Alright! Way to go Yukina! Kuwabara bet I can get more firewood than you!" With that Yuske was running up a slope and into the forest. Hiei looked at Yukina, who tilted her head slightly to the side and gave him the most innocent smile he had ever seen. It was overkill and proved she was guilty.

"Hay! No Fare Urameshi! You got a head start!" Now both of them were gone, Hiei thanked the gods.

While they waited for Yuske and Kuwabara to get back, the girls chatted to themselves and Hiei hadn't noticed that during his conversation with Kurama he had been eyeing Botan to make sure she didn't just up and go, like she was known to do. Kurama, the fox that he is, asked if he was interested in her as a mate. Hiei almost fell off of the bolder he and Kurama were sitting on, then glared at his friend as if he were crazy. After a short and awkward silence, Hiei began to explain what had happened back in Makai and why he was here. Kurama listened, interested, then when Hiei finished offered his help.

"No Kurama, I am responsible and I'd like to handle it myself." Hiei assured as two figures came out of the surrounding shrubs and onto view; Yuske was the obvious champion, his pile being five times bigger than that of Kuwabara's. They compared to be sure.

"Ha! That means you have to set it up. I'm going to spend time with my girlfriend." At first Kaiko seemed shocked at the not so Yuske's works, then corrected him, making him fall in shock,

"Not _Girlfriend_, Yuske! _Fiancé!_" The rest of the girls laughed at this and Hiei turned to Kurama for an explanation. The fox gladly gave it.

"Baka." He grunted, once Kurama finished.

Soon Kuwabara had finished setting up the bonfire wood and yelled to Yukina bragging. With him still so preoccupied Hiei got an idea, a mischievous smirk played across his lips, and he looked to Yuske who could see what he was thinking, nodded. They both had the same idea. Hiei turned back to Kuwabara who was between him and the pile of wood then he lifted his right hand and yelled to Kuwabara to get his attention.

"Wha…!?" Was all the poor human could manage as Hiei supposedly called upon the dragon of hell.

"Dragon!" Kuwabara squeaked.

"Of! The!" Kuwabara held his breath.

"Darkness!" Kuwabara shook his head vigorously.

"Flame!" Kuwabara made a hodgepodge of faces, all priceless, as Hiei shouted those words. The only thing Hiei had done was use the hottest fire in Ningenkai, which kind of looked like his dragon because it was a dark blue, that and he could control the shape. A newfound ability he had practiced during his stay in Makai. Kuwabara didn't know though and squealed while ducking for cover, looking a lot like an ostrige what with his head in the sand. Yuske was laughing his head off, Kaiko whapped him in the head. She and the other girls had been worried that Hiei had gone bad or something and became relived when they heard it was just a prank.

"What! Don't hit _me! Hiei's_ the one who did it!" Yuske said realizing Kaiko's strength must have grown twice as much as she had.

"Yeah! Yuske, but _you_ let him!" Another whap, for good measure. Hiei really didn't care what the girl thought, payback for the nuggy before had been good enough of a reason for him, and this was from a guy who doesn't hold grudges.

Surprisingly, when Kuwabara got back up, he didn't so much as whine. Instead he just sat there awestruck by the great fire before him, sand allover him but mostly stuck to his face. In the mood to have some more fun, and already tiered of just staring at the plain fire, Hiei decided he could make this more entertaining, hopefully saving himself and Yuske from hearing anymore complaints from Kaiko's direction.

So with some concentration he separated a good amount of flames from the illegal bonfire, and then shaped it with his mind, as if it were some sort of clay and not a livid fire. The first that came out was everyone's favorite ex-spirit detective. It's size at around the height of about his knee.

"Awesome, Hiei!" Yuske said truly excited as the mini him did his signature move sending a mini fireball in Kuwabara's direction. The human yelped as it singed his jacket.

Then another figure came out of the bonfire, it was Kaiko, who reprimanded the flame-Yuske by knocking him across the head. Then the two flames returned to the bonfire, and out came Kuwabara and his sister, Shizuro chewing out Kuwabara with a cigarette in her mouth. The woman laughed as her flame-self chased Kuwabara's back into the main fire. Next was Botan and Kurama, Kurama's was transforming into Yoko then into a fox that leaped into Botan's arms. Then with him she summoned her ore and flew into the fire. Noticeably last was Yukina's small fire version, it was also suspiciously bigger and more detailed. The girls squealed in excitement at how cute it was with the imitation birds he had made along with her when she emerged from the bonfire.

"Awe! Yukina you're so cute!" Botan announced turning to the real Yukina sitting next to her, and another round of squeals followed. Yukina had become embarrassed from all of the attention and the fact that that was how Hiei saw her from his eyes.

Hiei didn't know why but he was actually happy right now, perhaps it was because he felt safe surrounded by people he trusted and trusted him. Maybe it was because he was having fun, without causing terror, or that his sister was happy with him there. He actually debated on telling her the truth, but stopped as he realized something. Just as a smile had started to form on his face, and he wasn't going to hide it anymore, it was jerked away. He cursed his demon blood for ruining his good time. His concentration was yanked from the fire outside to the one within.

With every ones attention on Yukina they didn't notice that the flame that had resembled her had gone out. They however did notice when a started voice called out Hiei's name, it was Kurama. Hiei had collapsed his grimacing features rigid in the firelight. With a sudden groan from him, the bonfire went out, and everything suddenly felt cold and dreary, Hiei was losing control.

Kevan: Do you want to know what's next huh? _Do ya? Do ya!? Well_ that's just _too_ **_bad_**, _ya gotta wait!_

Toni: I love cliffhangers, I _hate_ it when **_I_** get them, but writing them is just, quote Carlos Mencia "_Dis is Da Shit!_"

Kevan: Later Losers! **_Oh_**! Read & Review! People-sk!

Toni: Is so **chiny**. (Translation: shiny) 0

9


	2. Chapter 2 Into the Heat

Toni: Yeah! I'm first to write this time. (Tears of joy) Sniffle-sniff.

Kevan: **I give _you _the _privilege_ of being _first_ and _that's_ what you _write!_ **I want my spot back. ; (Attempting the cut and paste method)

Toni: (Gives Kevan the watery-iddy-biddy-puppy-eyed face with humongo-'O' eyes.) Sniffle-sniff! Sniff-sniffle-'sk'. (Try saying that five times fast!)

Kevan: (Tries)

Toni: **_Snort_**

Kevan: What in fifth level hell was that?

Toni: **_I DON'T LIKE CHEESE!_**

K…evan: (I almost forgot how to write my own name --;) No! No no! No cheese! I told you _no_ pork buns while we're in a _small room_.

Toni: (That's sad --;) I didn't _cut_ cheese. I just _don't like_ **it**. (Nods head like a head-banger.) But I do like cheese cake and pizza and cheese burgers and… (Continues contradicting herself.)

Kevan: (Just noticed) My "attempting the cut and paste method" _didn't_ work. _Danm **it**!_ _Anyway_, hope you like this next _fabulous-'O'_ chapter of Full Throttle.

Chapter Two

Into the Heat

Kurama, being the closest to Hiei, was the first to notice the fire demons state of sudden lack of consciousness. Once everyone saw too they rushed over to where he was, concerned.

"Hiei!" It was Yukina that was the first to kneel next to him.

"What's the matter with him?" Kaiko wondered aloud looking to Yuske for answers; he just shrugged and looked to Kurama, who wasn't paying attention to him.

"Good he's still breathing." The fox sighed in relief at his own words, then he pondered aloud to himself,

"I wonder why he passed out? He didn't actually use the dragon, even if he had it wouldn't have done this to him."

"I'll check if there might be something hurt _inside_ of him." Yukina's hands began to glow and she was about to sweep them over Hiei, but was forced to pull back when she had started over his head, his bandanna had burst into flames revealing the Jagon.

"Hiei? Can you hear us?" It was Yuske sounding vary concerned.

"G-Go." Hiei managed to whisper, before gasping for air.

"Go? Go where? What do you need?" Yukina asked panicked. Hiei managed to sit up and open glazed eyes.

"A-away." It was said in an ice cold, strained voice. He was trying to scare them away.

"Hiei?" Yukina looked hurt, Hiei looked at her sad face and his face automatically softened. He hadn't meant to hurt her, anyone but her.

"Go." His expression was semi pleading but mostly in pain and concentration. Kurama caught this and told the group to give him room. Hiei didn't want to hurt any of them. He recognized the look in Hiei's eyes and he was losing control fast. Hiei felt he was running out of options the more time flew by. Then it hit him he wouldn't have the energy to hurt them if it was wasted. Trusting his companions he didn't think twice about the consequences. When there was a safe distance between him and the rest of the group he shocked all of them by holding his arms out wide, then they moved further away as the biggest fireball they had ever seen continued to grow.

"_Wow_! Where are the marshmallows when you need them?" Yuske said jokingly with a slack jaw and wide eyes. Kaiko nudged him in the side to stop. Hiei then sent the ball of fire flying, relighting the bonfire on its way to the horizon. Once it disappeared, by growing smaller in the distance, it exploded, sending out a rippling effect of force so strong the girls had to hold onto one of the guys to keep them from falling. The good thing was that the explosion didn't affect the water since it had been so high in the air, or they would have had to deal with a good-sized title wave. After the atmosphere settled back to normal, their wide eyes turned back to the diminutive demon with a hell of a lot of power. He let out a small moan and collapsed, falling backward from his sitting position.

"I guess _big_ things do come in _small_ packages." Yuske announced trying to keep the awkward silence that followed from continuing. Kaiko glared at him, she swore sometimes he didn't know when to just keep quiet.

"What just happened? I mean _I saw what happened_. But _what happened_?" Kuwabara asked staring at Hiei's form as they inched closer. Kurama knew exactly what was going on, but didn't want to announce it just yet. So he lied,

"I believe that if he hadn't released all of that energy that he would have lost control over his fire, and that explosion we just witnessed would have happened right here."

"_Ouch_!" Yuske commented, Kurama continued,

"Yes, good thing he released, he didn't want to put us in danger." What he was saying was at least halfway true. Hiei would have exploded but the energy would have been in use in a totally different manner. The good thing was that for right now they believed him, but boy would he hear it when the truth came out. Kurama thought right now would be a good time to explain why Hiei was actually there, since Hiei himself couldn't and it looked like Botan would be leaving before Hiei woke up.

"Oh, so he didn't just come and visit? I thought it wasn't like him to just up and decide to do that." Shizuro pointed out when Kurama finished.

"Well in that case I'll stay at Genkai's tonight so we can leave for Raikai together." Botan announced proud of her idea. Kurama offered to stay too saying to keep an eye on his friend, but thinking to ask the demon if he should also go with the two on the mission to keep his friend in check. Once that was all confirmed they all started to make their way towards the temple.

"_Wow_, he's _really_ light." Yuske announced quietly, hefting Hiei's small frame in his arms. Yukina had refused to let Kuwabara disturb and disrespect Hiei by hauling him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. In the end Yuske had offered to take the small demon to stop Kuwabara from complaining about how he refused to carry Hiei bridal style.

They had barely made it to the long stairs that lead up to the temple when the silence was broken again.

"Will he be alright?" Kaiko asked walking in-between Kurama and Botan.

"_He_ will be fine, it's _whoever's_ around him that I'm worried about. If he, or better yet _when_ he loses control I would not advise any one to be around him, _usually_. But it seems like he knows how to keep the energy from building up inside of him just by wasting it." Kurama sighed, he wasn't exactly lying.

"Why does this happen to him?" It was Botan's question this time.

"It has _a lot_ to do with his birth." He answered hoping Botan caught onto his innuendo. What he was saying was in fact true; it did happen to him if he went under a lot of stress or if he lost concentration on his controlled body temperature, but it wasn't what was happening now.

"Huh? … Oooh!" Botan was kind of slow, but he was glad she had caught on. He would lose control once in a while because he was half Koorime. She didn't announce her realization though because Yukina was close by.

"He'll be better by tomorrow, right?" Came Yukina's voice full of worry.

"Yeah, a little tired yes, but in good health." Kurama smiled reassuringly, but he planned to have a talk with the fire demon once he got the slightest chance to catch him alone.

"Yeah he'll be just fine." He repeated with a reassuring smile. He knew exactly what was going on, Hiei was in heat.

When Hiei woke up he was still in Yuske's arms.

"Hey you awake?" He announced. Hiei's face had already been flushed from his heat but now it was more noticeable, because he was embarrassed and horny. Yuske's eyes widened in worry at this. Hiei had closed his eyes to keep himself in check, Yuske thought he was hurting. He craned his neck to call Kurama and Yukina from behind him.

"Hey guys, I think he's got a fever." Yuske said stopping and sitting down on the stairs he had been climbing. He sat Hiei on his lap and held his head on his shoulder, then took his free hand and put it on his forehead then on Hiei's.

"Yuske, he's a fire demon of course he's going to be hotter than you." Shizuro announced. Yuske shook his head.

"Not this hot. Maybe he's losing control again?" he looked to Kurama who shrugged.

"He doesn't have enough energy to materialize fire so we should just try and keep his body temperature down. Yukina do you think you can?" The little Koorime nodded.

She walked up to Hiei and Yuske. Hiei was panting more visibly now and sweating, but calmed down immensely when she used her power to cool him down. Calmed so much he was back to sleep exhausted from his lustful struggle. Right now he had to stay in control, or he would take anyone he got his reasonable small hands on, be it male or female.

Hiei knew Kurama knew what was happening to him because the first time they had met was right after his last rut. He thanked the gods for that, or they most probably would not be friends right now, if they had met during his horny filled life cycle. He was glad Kurama had lied about what was happening to him, and thankful to the fox for coming up with a reasonably true excuse.

While Hiei was no longer connected to the world around him more questions bombarded the man he was so thankful to.

"So Kurama, how do you know about this?" Shizuro asked nodding in Hiei's direction.

"He had just gotten over one case when I first met him, and it happened again once before we confronted Yuske." His thoughts continued, the first time he was actually just over his rut and the second he had actually been under a lot of stress.

"Oh. How did you deal with it?" Yukina asked so she could do the same.

"I just kept him as cool as possible to keep the heat at bay." Heat meaning body temperature and, unknowingly to the rest of the group, his sexual cycle.

"I can easily do that, will this be over by tomorrow?" She asked again. Kurama shook his head.

"No, it usually acts up again at night, and is on and off during the rest of the month." Kurama explained, really thinking about it. He would have to ask Hiei if he could handle going on the mission alone with Botan or if he needed help to keep himself in check.

He had never really seen Hiei during his rut, but he remembered going through a lot of them himself as Yoko. His body would gather up all of his power and store it, so no matter who crossed him he could over power them. Now that he thought of it Hiei was very smart wasting the energy before it could be stored, he had never really bothered to worry about it. He couldn't help but become flushed at the thought, when he had been Yoko he had been a real kinky bastard.

"Kurama are you feeling okay?" Kaiko made him come back to reality.

"Huh? Oh, I'm fine let's get Hiei to the temple before it gets any later, who knows what's in these forests." With that Kaiko nodded and Yukina offered that they should all stay at the temple. They all agreed tired and wanting to spend more time together like old times.

With every one going a bit faster it didn't take them long to get to the end of the stairs.

"What's the matter with _him_?" Genkai asked when she saw Hiei in Yuske's arms.

"He's got _kind of a fever_?" Yuske looked to Kurama to confirm he was right.

"_Whatever_, just set him down in one of the rooms. Does this mean your _all_ staying the night?" Everyone nodded and the old woman sighed,

"Fine make yourselves at home, might as well start getting used to the place." Then she walked off to her own quarters. She had been referring to the discussion when they had first shown up, that when she passed on everything that was hers would belong to them.

It was about seven when they got Hiei settled into a room. He had asked to be left alone so now everyone was in the cozy living room, talking, catching up on what they had missed in each other's lives. Yuske was still king to one third of Makai; he said that he had told his advisors to contact him when there was big trouble. Kaiko sighed, and he continued,

"Because I'm going home and living my life with my family." He was been sitting next to Kaiko on the sofa and put his arm around her shoulder in a reassuring hug. She smiled at this then blushed as Shizuro and Botan whistled.

Kuwabara told his story and how he was going to a good university, and that he was planning on going to America to check it out. Yuske nodded and smiled, he was glad that Kuwabara was leading a good life. Kurama explained that he's a manager in his stepfathers company and that he lived in an apartment near his mother's new home in Tokyo. Shizuro said that she now owned a salon on Main Street in Yuske's old neighborhood, and that his mother got her hair done there. Yuske couldn't help but ask how his mother was doing.

"She's been doing great, _missing her son_, but great." She answered.

"I'm going to see her tomorrow, first thing, I swear." Yuske promised himself.

Botan said that not much had changed for her; she still worked for Koenma as a spirit guild. But then she said that she had missed them all so much and almost started crying. She smiled and said,

"Happy tears." Everyone smiled at this, then Kaiko asked Yukina how she had been. She sighed, and explained that she had yet to see or hear anything about her brother. Yuske frowned, and looked to Kurama as if to ask if this were true, that Hiei had yet to tell her about their relationship. Kurama shook his head. Kuwabara sighed too, sad that she was so disappointed, then he said,

"I wish I knew him so I could bring him to you, even if I have to by force. I hate to see you like this." Yukina smiled then told them what Hiei had said to her before he had left to Mukuro's.

"I had asked him that if he saw anyone with a stone like the one my mother had given to me before she had died, to give him mine. Hiei had nodded. I told him that when a Koorime gives birth to her baby she sheds a single tear, it is different than normal Hiruiseki stones, and is given to her child. My mother shed two, I had one and my twin brother was given one before he was banished. I haven't gotten the chance to ask if he found my brother. But even if he didn't the advice he gave me that night was like a brothers advice and it makes me happy. I'm glad Hiei has come back." Everyone who knew about Hiei, except Kurama who knew more than the rest, was shocked to say the least. Hiei was her twin and he was banished off a floating island.

"So why don't you know what he looks like did they have him locked up somewhere before he was old enough or did something bad enough to be banished?" Kuwabara asked, everyone else was curious too; even Kurama, Hiei had never got into this much detail.

"No, he was banished right after birth, he was thrown off of the isle, so I never got to see him and even if I did, later on when I was a little older I had asked about him but it was forbidden to speak of it. Rui, my mother's friend and banisher of my brother, told me about why my mother had cried all those years and why she had taken her life, I had a brother that she loved just as she loved me. That was when my search began. I left the island and came to the human world." Everyone was quiet a while before sobbing cut the silence, it was Botan this was the first time she had heard this.

"His life must have been hard. I mean _really_ hard." She sobbed, wishing that she didn't know the truth and be as ignorant as Kuwabara.

"That's why I want to find him, and tell him that he's not alone. I want to tell him that mother did love him, and couldn't live without him." Again everyone was silent. But then Yukina felt awkward and asked if Kurama knew how Hiei had been doing. But before he could answer Kuwabara took out the newspaper from before the one with the deformed little version of Hiei on it.

"What is that?" Botan asked whipping her eyes. Yuske saw it first and his cheeks puffed up from him trying to suppress the laughter. Kurama was glad that Kuwabara had kept the article because it lightened up the mood a lot.

After a good laugh and everyone was settled in and asleep, Kurama snuck into Hiei's room, to have that conversation he had been dying to have with the half Koorime. When he entered a deep growl came from where the bed was.

"Fox get out," Kurama could hear him turning over, most likely away from him.

"I'll leave as soon as you answer me one question." Hiei grunted for him to continue.

"Will you want me to go with you on your mission with Botan, to um, keep you in line and Botan safe?" Hiei though a while then answered:

"When we get to where the demon is, I'll leave her somewhere safe and find a forest or wood to get through…this. So no, now leave before I lose my… patience." The last word was strained telling Kurama he should definitely be leaving.

"Very well, good night Hiei." He left and relief flooded the demon along with a needed and forced sleep. Kurama must have put something in his room to help him sleep before he left. Kurama snickered outside the door; Hiei was in for it tomorrow Kuwabara swore that when he woke up he would tease him with the article. Kurama sweat-dropped remembering that Kuwabara also ordered extra papers to his house to keep incase Hiei burnt the one he had.

"Tomorrow's going to be _very interesting_. Yup." Kurama then left for his room. Thoughts of today's events lingered in his head as he slept.

Kevan: Well that was fun. It's finely the end of the chapter. And I have come on top at the bottom of the page.

Toni: (--;) _Wow! That made sense._ Yippy the second chappy is done. Our baby is growing, next it'll be in collage and getting married and having kids and just thinking about all of the 'and's I'm writing is **AGRAVATING!!!** Oh and before the last part: It just makes me feel old. (Twitches)

Kevan: Just get it out of your system.

Toni: (Inhales) AND! AND! AND! AND! AND! AND! AND! AND! AND! Okay, I'm good. **AND!**

Kevan: Done yet? Satisfied?_ Feel better?_

Toni: AND! (Sighs)

Kevan You know you have a lot of time on your hands when you can write a sentence with that many 'you's in it. I cannot wait until the next chapter comes out. Oh! Wait! I don't, I have it right here I can read it whenever I want.

Toni: Kevan you need some serious help. Mentally.

Kevan: Retard.

Toni: **READ 'AND' REVIEW PEOPLE-SK!!! HA!** I only said 'and' once.

Kevan: Nuh-uh you just said 'it' again.

Toni: **_CRAP! _LATER!**

Kevan: Later! (Helps Toni walk away from the keyboard, before she writes any more you-know-what's)

Toni: NooooOOOOooooo! lo0ol

11


	3. Chapter 3 The Terrible Truth is a Lie

Kevan: (Snags keyboard before Toni has a chance to write anything.) Ha! _What now Biotch! _

Toni: Hay _guesses_ what I just got a candy heart that says: AMORE on it. What if whoever you give it to doesn't understand a word of Spanish or… **Yeah!** I'm special, and I love to write so deal.

Kevan: Well another chapter, _told_ you we had it. I've _already_ read it. _Sweet!_

Toni: Duh, you've _read_ it, you help to _write_ it, Kevan your special…er.

Kevan: _Doesn't_ matter they're still _jealous_ of **me**. I know people it's hard not to be. I love me too.

Toni: Yes, Kevan we know you do.

Chapter Three

The Terrible Truth is a Lie

The sun was brighter than the day before, Hiei assumed. Then he realized he was in a bed that he didn't recognize and shot up. He also felt tiered. He was about to start panicking but then everything slowly came back to him as he tried to think of what had happened. He could sense every one was still nearby and that it was pretty early in the morning. He got out of bed and walked out to the hallway towards the others.

They were in the kitchen; Yukina, Botan, Shizuro and Kaiko were by the counter cooking. Yuske, Kurama and Kuwabara were at the table talking. Genkai was somewhere else in the temple doing who knows what. Everyone was silent for a while when Hiei walked in, brooding as usual. Then Yukina approached him and asked if he was all right. He nodded and looked to Kurama who smiled. He then looked to Botan with an "are we leaving now?" look on his face.

"I called Koenma and he said to wait a little longer, and that he would have the location of the demon by noon. So just relax and wait for some breakfast." She offered him a chair at the table and he surprisingly took it.

"So, uh, Hiei how's it been going?" Yuske asked not able to forget the information he had gotten about him yesterday. Hiei noticed something was wrong but didn't know what.

"Hn." Hiei gave him a questioning look, but answered his question anyway,

"There was a rebellion against Mukuro and now I'm looking for the leader."

"Hay, Hiei what's Mukuro like? I mean she must be something to be able to deal with you." Hiei flinched in anger at Kuwabara's statement, but answered his question too.

"She is a strong stubborn woman, that is ruler of part of Makai."

"I know _that_, let me rephrase it for you: What do _you_ think of her?" Hiei looked slightly confused.

"I'm asking, _you must hang around her a lot for this to happen_, because some of her aura I can feel it on you, and _man can I tell you what she thinks of you!_" Yuske and Kurama looked interested and the girls stopped chatting to listen. Hiei on the other hand looked as usual, expressionless. But you could tell he was just as curious as everyone else as he asked,

"Baka, what do you mean?"

"Shrimp, _she has so got the hot's for you_, I mean wow, even though she's not here _it's as clear as day to me_." Hiei looked to Kurama for a translation,

"He's saying that Mukuro likes you." Hiei quirked a brow as if to say 'So?' then Kurama continued,

"As a potential mate Hiei, not a friend." Kuwabara nodded. Yuske had an expression of 'Eeeuck'. He remembered the way she looked and even though she had tried to hide it at the tournament he could tell she was not a 'good' looker. Kuwabara noticed his expression and asked out loud,

"Is she really that bad, Urameshi?" Yuske nodded like a traumatized child.

"She's better off than you baka." Hiei unwillingly defended his boss.

"He's defending her, he likes her too." Botan whispered a bit to loud to the other girls. Kurama merely smiled, even though they were arguing, not once had they actually gotten Hiei to talk about something other than fighting. True he had tried once to invite him to a game of cards but that had been it.

"I do not 'like' her. She's a means to employment, and that is all." Hiei closed his eyes and crossed his arms putting the subject to an end. Kuwabara took this time to take out the article from yesterday out, and put it in front of Hiei's face so it would be the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes. Hiei was still being defiant and still had his eyes closed. Yukina caught on to what Kuwabara was doing and walked up to the table, Hiei must have sensed this and opened his eyes.

"What the…?" Was all that was auditable from him before the room was filled with laugher. He read the article curious and huffed,

"That baka ningen, I wasn't even on patrol and I found him, I was looking for that blasted demon. I probably would have found him too if it hadn't been for this bastard." He slapped the paper referring to the human that had been in the article.

"He thought you were a short three eyed alien. I'd say the only part he got wrong was the 'alien' part." Yuske said between laughs. Hiei made an annoyed mock laugh expression that sent them rolling.

"Very funny guys, now EAT!" Shizuro shouted startling them out of laughing. Before Hiei had shown up Kuwabara had said that Shizuro's cooking was all but great, that in turn had earned him a good knock on the head.

"It cant be that bad _now_, I mean Kaiko's parents own a restaurant, and she helped, so she would stop you sister from poisoning us right?" Kurama whispered to Kuwabara as Shizuro left his and Kuwabara's plate and went to get Yuske's and Hiei's. Kuwabara just gulped and shrugged. When all of the plates were down the girls stood around the table trapping them in.

"Aren't you guys gonna eat too?" Yuske asked. The girls shook their heads and said that they had already eaten. The boys, except Hiei, looked around the table with looks of 'are you going to eat it?' Then all eyes landed on Hiei, who was just staring at his plate.

"Hiei?" They all asked in union. He looked up and noticed they were all staring at him.

"What, I'm the Ginny-pig?" Every one nodded. He sighed and thought 'can't be worse than demon food' and took a bite. Yukina and the other girls looked hopeful. Hiei took in another bite with no expression. Like so he finished his plate. He was a really fast eater for his size and now everyone knew why they had never gotten the chance to even _see_ him eat.

"I guess it's good I mean _Hiei_ ate it, I just realized I've never even _seen Hiei eat_ before now." Yuske said preparing to take a bite off of his own plate. Everyone nodded in agreement except for Kurama, who said,

"He ate all of the ice-cream we had in the freezer once."

"So that's where my rocky road went. Still the thief aren't you?" Came Genkai's old voice as she entered to room. Just as she was entering the room Yuske had bitten down on his food, his taste buds made contact and…

"It taste like shit." He stated vary calmly. Then swallowed. The two other boys ate it too, they could feel the dangerous aura of the ones who cooked the horrible meal they were forced to eat.

Once everyone was freed from the table all of the boys ran for the bathroom feeling an emergency coming on. Even Hiei looked worse for wear. But the food wasn't what bothered him it was his predicament. Even now his body was taking his energy and preparing for tonight. He sat on the windowsill and let out a deep sigh, he could tell he was not acting the way he usually did when around people. But he figured that after this time he would probably never see any of them again. He didn't want to see any of them again, not hat he hated them he just felt accepted. He knew that whenever he felt that something bad was going to happen. Like yesterday, he had actually enjoyed himself, no slaughtering involved, just plain joy. Then what happened, the gods dammed him, that's what.

"Hiei I'm so happy you opened up a little today it really made me happy to see you enjoy yourself." Yukina came up to him and smiled. He had been trying to avoid her, discreetly; he didn't want her asking if he had found her brother. He had made up his mind long ago, he would lie to her, it would be the only time he lied to her. Another reason he didn't want see anyone again, he knew they would hate him for hurting Yukina, his own sister.

"Um, Hiei…" She had begun trying to figure out how to ask him without annoying him; little did she know that she could never annoy him. He knew what she was going to ask him, he could tell because of the look of hope in her eyes. So he cut her off,

"Yukina."

"Huh? Yes Hiei?" with that he pulled out the gem she had given him and held it out to her. At first she looked confused then smiled and said,

"I'm sorry, you must have been too busy with work, I shouldn't have burdened you with my task." Hiei didn't look at her; he held his head low and reached into his pocket again. She watched closely as he took out another Hiruiseki necklace. Her eye's widened and she looked to Hiei to see his expression of what it meant. She was met with the usual stoic face so she had to ask,

"Hiei? W-what does this mean?" Hiei shook his head. She stood there frozen like a fountain statue, tears flowing from her face and bouncing off of the ground as priceless Hiruiseki stones. His stomach was more than knotted, it was grounded into a fine powder of regret and hate towards himself. He had never wanted to be the cause of these tears, ever! And yet there he sat cold as ever, expressionless and hopeless.

"Yukina!" It was Kuwabara, he had come back and saw the state Yukina was in and how Hiei was and assumed he had made her cry.

"Hiei! What did you do?" he seethed. Hiei then realized that Kuwabara was a better suited to protecting Yukina, he was a good man.

" I made her _cry_ isn't that _obvious_?" Hiei was being colder and colder with each word. It was after he said that that he let Kuwabara give him what he deserved.

"Hey! What in the hells going on!" Yuske yelled after Kuwabara stomped passed him dragging Hiei beside him. They went outside, everyone was now either looking out from the temple or outside trying to figure out what the ruckus was about.

Everyone except Yukina, who was probably still inside, mourning her brother's death. No one even noticed or knew that it was because of her that they were out and they were even more confused when Kuwabara started beating on Hiei, and Hiei was letting him.

"Why isn't he fighting back, or dodging, holy crap I almost forgot isn't he like sick?" Yuske asked Kurama then went to stop the massacre. He managed to hold the fuming Kuwabara back. Hiei just stood there not even flinching, his head down and his eyes closed.

"Let him go Yuske. This doesn't concern you." He said toneless but not cold like his voice usually was.

"Hiei? W-wha…" Yuske was completely confused.

"LET HIM GO!" He had never heard Hiei like this, and let the boy in his arms go, but Kuwabara didn't do anything. Instead he glared Hiei down and stomped away, muttering,

"No way am I giving that ass-wipe what he wants."

"Hiei, what's going on?" Yuske asked getting closer to him but Hiei stepped away his eyes hidden.

"Botan I have a mission to finish!" Botan scurried out of the temple and without even asking what was going on, summoned her ore.

"Hiei?" Yuske tried again, but Hiei was already out of sight, Botan took that as her cue and was about to take off when Shizuro stopped her.

"He's hurting, don't dig or he might break. I'll figure out what's the matter with my bro, you keep an eye on him." she said with a pleading look, and then sent Botan off.

"What's going on?" Yuske asked her.

"Yes, I'd like to know as well." Kurama was just as confused.

"I'm still not to sure but I'm sure we will soon find out inside. Some ones hurting as much as Hiei is."

Kevan: I _cannot_ believe you made Hiei do that.

Toni: It _Hurts_! The _Pain_! The _Agony_! The _Torture_! Kay, I'm over it. Because it was what needed to be done. Hiei fan's trust me you'll love me for this later. But for right now go ahead and hate me with all of your… your…**Yeah!** I **don't** care if you send your flames go ahead send me all you've got!

Kevan: (Throws a rubber-band at Toni.)

Toni: _Oow_! What was that for?

Kevan: _Just_ for the _heck_ of it.

Toni: **READ & REVIEW PEOPLE-SK!!**

Kevan: (Just cut the cheese)

Toni: **_I DON'T LIKE CHEESE! AAAAAHHHH! _** (Passes out)

Kevan: _Revenge_ is _mine! _

_(To be continued…) Dun, dun, dun!_

Toni: (Narrating): Will our hero survive?

Kevan: Hero? Toni shut up and get back on the ground I _'hit'_ you too hard for you to be up. (_'Hit'_ meaning her gas attack)

Toni: (Breaths in another woof.) **_HACK! COUGH! AURHG!_** (Out again, not to be woken up till next chapter)

Kevan: Later…sk.

8


	4. Chapter 4 To the US of A

Kevan: Toni, Toni, TONI! Wake up. _Hey_, Barnes & Nobles burned down, Hiei died, and there's no more Anime in the world.

Toni: _ARMAGEDON! _(Jolts up and head-buts Kevan.)

Kevan: Son of a _b-i-t-c-h_. That hurt like hell. What did you do that for?

Toni: Hiei and Barnes & Nobles and Anime and Nooooooooooooooo! Did that really happen? 0 (Eyes and nose leaking)

Kevan: No, but it will if you head-but me like that again.

Toni: Weawy (Really) Sniffle-sniff-sk!

Kevan: Yes I have connections. (Don't tell her I'm bluffing.) Shhhhhhhhhhhh!

Toni: This is a little game we thought of. (Regained focus-ness)

Kevan: (Wow she got over that quick --;) You know Hiei's coming to the US, but you have to guess what state. That's what? One out of fifty chances your right, not that hard. (Snickers evilly, then an all out evil laugh blows out.) Ha-ha-ha!

Toni: Yeah, and whoever guesses right gets to chose the name for one of the original characters.

Kevan: (Leaves to her _other_ throne)

Toni: _On_ with the _show_!

Chapter Four

To the U. S. of A.

It was incredible; the way Hiei could hide his feelings no matter what. If anything he was a pro. Only a few people knew where to look, to find the truth, and right now not even those few people knew what was going on. Yukina had been crying, she was asleep on the sofa now, and Kuwabara explained that Hiei had admitted to causing her tears. It had been a shock to say the least. Yukina was the one person they never thought Hiei would hurt, and not care.

Then it hit him like a bolder across the head, Yuske realized that Hiei had wanted Kuwabara to reprimand him for what he had done. Yuske announced his realization in a low whisper,

"Hiei wanted to be punished. That's why he didn't fight back." They were all in the Kitchen pondering what had happened.

"I think he just wanted to prove I couldn't hurt him." Kuwabara hissed. He was standing at the doorway, keeping an eye on Yukina.

"Bro, you didn't feel it did you? No you were too angry to notice anything." Shizuro asked.

"Notice what? Sis, he hurt Yukina on purpose."

"Yes, but he regrets it. I may not have the same amount of spirit awareness as you two, but I've known Hiei for a while now and I had never seen him like that." Kurama spoke but didn't look up from his place at the table.

"He's always like that." Kuwabara didn't seem to want to admit that something deeper than "Hiei just being a jerk" was what was going on. He was being too stubborn because of his lack of knowledge.

"Kuwabara, the only time I heard him yell like that was at the Dark Tournament when he was summoning the Darkness Dragon." Kurama reasoned.

"If he felt so bad why did he leave her like this, he could have at least said sorry." Kuwabara continued.

"It's not his way." Every one froze; Yukina had woken up and was now standing in the doorway.

"Yukina! Tell me what did that bastard do to you. I swear, I'll search for that three eyed ass and finish what I started." Kuwabara was still seething and even more so now that her sad expression had entered the room.

"Finish what you started? What did you do to Hiei?" Yukina looked worried and sad.

"He hurt you! I gave him less than what he disserved." Kuwabara frowned, angry,

"I don't think I even phased him."

"Kuwabara, he's sick and he didn't do me any harm, you shouldn't have done anything to him." Yukina looked at her feet, her eyes welling up with tears again.

"But he admitted he had made you cry. He had sounded really cold and annoyed." Kuwabara explained.

"His actions were what had caused me to cry, but not for the reasons you think." Yukina paused, thinking that if she admitted what to Hiei had shown her that it would be the nothing but the truth.

"What is it he did Yukina? He seems to be suffering because of it, and I'd like to help both of you." Kurama said as he stood then went to kneel before her taking her hand in comforting gesture. The tears came again, and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop them. Yukina sniffed, nobody had noticed that she had been holding something until she held her hands out.

"Are those what I think they are?" Kuwabara asked looking over her shoulder. She nodded.

"You had only given Hiei one so the other one must belong to…" Kaiko stopped and tears began to well up in her brown eyes.

"He's dead, my twin brother is…" she couldn't finish; she dropped to her knees and began to sob holding the gems to her heart.

"There, there, Yukina, are you sure he told you that?" It was Shizuro she was now hugging the ice apparition hoping to cause some comfort. Yukina nodded and Kurama stood and began to walk away.

"Kurama where are you going?" Yuske whispered as he passed him on his way out.

"I'm going to have a nice little chat with my old friend."

"Then I'm coming too." Yuske was about to grab his jacket off of the table but Kurama stopped him and with a reassuring smile said,

"I can handle this Yuske," he looked at the clock on the wall and continued,

"You had promised to visit your mother, it's already six pm. besides you can always talk about this to Hiei later, remember he's on a mission. I don't even know if I'll be able to get to him before he leaves Raikai." Kurama's smile widened a bit as Yuske sighed and nodded. Kurama left without another word, truly hoping to catch the demon in time.

Five hours before, when Hiei and Botan left for Raikai. When Botan had gotten to Koenma's office she was surprised to find that Hiei had not gotten there before she had.

"Koenma, um, Hiei hasn't by any chance gotten here before me has he?"

"No but hopefully he shows up within the two next hours, you guys have a plane to catch." Koenma explained handing her their tickets.

"Oh, wow, I better get to packing my cloths then." She then left the office and began to think about what had happened before she had left Genkai's. Shizuro had said that Hiei had been hurting and to keep an eye on him. She hoped he was all right.

Meanwhile in Makai, Hiei had made his way back here when he had left the temple. He was now running towards Raizen's old territory that now belonged to Yuske. This was the only place Hiei knew that he could vent to catch the attention of some powerful demons with bloodlust. He needed a worthy opponent.

He had found it too, without even trying. A demon had recognized him and wanted to be the tough shit he thought he was.

"Look it's the great Hiei, shorter than I expected." Hiei glared at the demon. Then punched him in the face sending him flying through a wall where another demon had his shop.

"Hey! Dip shit, you better pay for all of this damage!" Hiei walked up to this demon and socked him too.

Eventually the guard was called and he fought them too, with some difficulty. Before he had gone to the portal from Ningenkai to Makai, he had gone back to the beach and released some more of his energy. So now he was pretty much kicking ass and getting his ass kicked. In the end all of the guards had eaten dirt.

It took a little longer for him to get to Raikai than he had wanted, his leg had been hurt, but it would be fully healed by the end of the day. It was too bad that it was not before Botan had noticed, she had seen the slight limp in his strut when he walked into Koenma's office, that and he had fresh cuts and bruises allover his body.

"Hiei! What happened? Are you all right?" Hiei just glared at her with a quirked brow, as if to say, "What's gotten into you?"

"Jeeze! I'm just worried! I mean look at you!" Hiei glanced over himself and shrugged.

"You two don't have the time to argue about Hiei's state of…" Koenma looks Hiei up and down,

"… Hygiene." Botan snorted. Hiei glanced a glare towards her, and then glared Koenma down for him to continue.

"We found your demon, but we've only got an rough idea of where he is. You will have to take human transportation to get there, and take on a human alias. I have a branch there and they will aid you as best they can. They will provide you with a place to stay and the currency used there.

Now, I'm going to give you these talismans because I don't want you to kill the demon on Ningenkai territory, it's a disaster waiting to happen. You will seal the demon and take him back to Makai, then you can do whatever it is you need to do. Botan's handbook has more information if you need it." He hands Hiei the talismans, Botan a map, and a passport to each of them.

"You should go now your plane will be leaving in about an hour. Because of a terrorist attack the place you will be going to has tightened security. The process will take you about a half an hour for you to actually get on the airplane…. _Go!_ You still have to get to the airport and get your luggage put on the plane." With that a portal opened up on the wall and he shoed them through.

On the other side of the portal they found themselves at the opposite end of a vary large underground parking lot filled to the brim with cars. They took their time walking to get to the main waiting area of the airport. So now they had about fifteen minutes to go through security. Botan wanted to go in right away to get to their seats.

They presented their passports to the clerk that took Botan's bags Hiei didn't have any. They were a bout to go through the metal detector when Botan realized something.

"Hiei did you bring your sword?" He nodded once.

"Hiei, if you have your sword they wont let us on the plane. Do you think you can get it on without them detecting it." He nodded again. Botan watched him closely; he seemed to be staring off into space, then she took in what he was doing. The cord that he was staring at was the one to the metal detector, it was unplugging from the wall. They walked through the guards and to the other side, the metal detector silent. Hiei had used his telekinetic power, again to put the plug back in and it went off on the next want to be passenger.

"I thought you were only telepathic. I didn't know you could move things with you mind too. You never did it before."

"Hn, it gives me headaches." Hiei grimaced for a second then glared at her.

"What do you mean 'Shizuro was right, I should keep an eye on him'?" Botan gasped and covered her mouth. Then frowned.

"Hey! Don't read my mind! There is a thing called privacy you know!" She turned on her heel and led the way to the plane.

"Onna." Hiei warned, she squeaked and shook her head. He continued to read her mind and found images of earlier from Botan's point of view. Images of him and Kuwabara, Kuwabara fighting, and Hiei just standing there letting Kuwabara use him as a punching bag.

"STOP!" Botan pushed Hiei and ran the rest of the way to the plane. Hiei had seen himself the way she had, he had looked un-phased from the oaf's blows. But he knew otherwise. Botan was confused, and he wanted to keep it that way. He strut the rest of the way, his heels scuffing the floor with every step.

He found his empty seat next to Botan; she had taken the seat next to the window. She looked dazed as she looked through the glass at the other unmoving planes on the port. Hiei grunted and it seemed to startle her attention to him.

"Hiei, listen I'm just worried about you. You looked horrible yesterday, I'm not used to seeing you like that. Everyone was worried about you." She stated standing up and taking a step towards him, to emphasize her point. Hiei walked passed her and took her seat next to the window. She sighed and walked away, disappointed.

"I know." Hiei whispered out of her earshot.

The rest of the plane ride was held in silence between the two, Botan had fallen asleep halfway there so there wasn't as much awkwardness as she had thought there would be. When the plane landed Botan got her bags and took out the map koenma had given her. She was standing in the middle of the port, Hiei next to her, random people passing them, as she looked over the map when she said,

"Alright, lets get the spirit world branch then we'll look for your demon from there." She looked to Hiei for agreement he shook his head.

"We'll start tomorrow, it's not worth looking around without knowing our surroundings. We'll explore today and look for places he might be, probably around crowded places where he can easily blend in." Hiei stated, and then out of nowhere Botan blurted out,

"Hiei do you know how to speak English? I mean it will be hard to look for the demon if you can't ask if anyone's seen him." Hiei sighed at this and answered,

"Yes Botan, I know how to speak the language. Now where should we start?" But Botan didn't want to put the subject down,

"When did you get the time to learn? I mean you were in Makai till you robbed the three artifacts, right?" Hiei growled, he wanted to start looking around; Botan took his hint and said,

"Fine! We can talk while we walk. But we will go to the Raikai branch first to get some money." Hiei quirked a brow at this, then stuffed his hands into his pockets and began to brood. This was why he wanted to go alone, no side tracts. He knew what she wanted to do, the thing any female human or demon, loved no lived to do. Shop, shop, and shop.

They followed the map to the American spirit world branch. In front of them there was a building that looked like,

"Wow, are you sure this is the Raikai branch for here?"

"Onna, you're the one with the map."

"Here you check it!" She shoved the map at him; he had not said a word the entire time she had tried to look for the place. He seemed to be coming in and out of la-la-land. He glared at her and looked over the paper and sighed.

"Yes onna, this is the place." She twitched with a look of "Here? You Have Got To Be Kidding Me!"

To say the least it was a dump. It looked like it was condemned. It was at the end of a long trashy alleyway, to the right. It looked like it used to be the back entrance to a bar. The door was worn down and it looked like people had pasted papers randomly on the door and the weather had tried to take them off. It looked like shit.

"Do we just open the door?" Botan asked, Hiei answered by trying to open the door. The doorknob wouldn't budge; instead it sent a small shock to his hand. He shot his hand back and looked at it as part of his bandaged palm smoked.

"Are you okay? What happened?" She reached for his hand; he snagged it out of reach. She huffed and instead went for the door.

"Don't onna." Hiei warned, she grabbed it and nothing happened.

"What is it Hiei? We have to get that hand looked at. The door probably has demon seals on it to keep demons out." She opened the door and sure enough the other side of its frame was covered with the said seals. However the inside of the building was the exact opposite of the outside, it had no trash anywhere. In fact the one room was completely white. At the opposite end of the room was another door, probably leading to the front entrance. Botan looked around the small room with a spin on her heel.

"Hm? It seems to be an empty white room."

"Great observations onna. What now?" Botan put a finger on her chin and held her elbow with her other hand, she had an air of thought about her. Then her face lit up, she remembered something. She rummaged through her purse and took out a single glove, put it on and headed toward the other door. Hiei followed having some idea of what was going on.

With the gloved hand Botan opened the door. On the other side was what looked like the Raikai of Japan, except everyone spoke English. Botan walked through first, a small beep sounded. Hiei sighed and went in next, alarm blaring, lights flashing, and weapons drawn. Botan had frozen out of reflex and was now standing in-between Hiei and the arsenal in front of her. She whimpered a laugh, slowly raised her arms, and said,

"I think we have an appointment."

Kevan: Who do you think they're pointing at?

Toni: It's kind of obvious.

Kevan: Well it's over, no more chapters. Finally I can get some sleep.

Toni: (Starts panicking) O.O say what!?

Kevan: I'm just kidding we haven't even gotten to the best part when…

Toni: (Interrupts) Wait! You can't tell then yet, they have to read the next chapter.

Kevan: Awe! Can I give them a hint?

Toni: (Whines) Ooookaaaay.

Kevan: Yippy! I wasn't going to tell them anything any way!

Toni: --; your weird.

Kevan: Well read the next chapter and don't forget to answer the trivia question at the top of this page. Remember to put the name you want as an original character next to your anwer.

Toni: Later-sk.

10


	5. Chapter 5 Not So Out of Sight

Toni: Remember our trivia question in the last chapter? Well the answer is California. And the winners are: No One! No one played the game, even you Jack. The only person in the world that reviewed our work. I'm so sad. vv, (Wipes tear)

Kevan: Well whoopdie-freakin-doo!

Toni: Thanks a lot for the advice though, (Hugs Jack)

Kevan: (Hugs Jack too) Yup, cause hugs cure cancer.

Toni: On with the show!

Kevan: (Pulls up the red curtain) Suuure! I got to do the labor around here! ;

**Chapter Five**

**Not So Out of Sight…**

It had been an awkward moment when the alarms had been set off. It seemed that demons, unlike in the Japan district, were unwelcome to the US district of Raikai. Even the security of this region was not of any sort of Oni decent. But none of them were human either, they seemed human but it was apparent to Hiei that they weren't. They seemed a lot like Botan, dead yet alive, the undead.

"Um. Hi my name is Botan and this is Hiei." Botan points a thumb in his direction.

"We're from the Japan borough. We're here to catch a rouge demon." No one moved, their eyes glued on Hiei who sighed in annoyance, all of them flinched at this. After a few more seconds of silence a voice from the back of the large crowed was calling out,

"Halt! Stop! Put your weapons down! She's one of us and…" It was a reasonably tall blond man with a 'Jesus' sweater on. He looked Hiei up and down and seemed to start panicking.

"AAAAH! HE'S A DEMON! WHATS A DEMON DOING HERE?! WHY DID YOU BRING A DEMON TO MY OFFICE?!" The man seemed hysterical. His expressions every one unique with each word he shouted.

Botan tilted her head and looked at Hiei and said,

"You mean you knew I was coming but you didn't know Hiei was coming? That's strange, this is his mission after all." The man stopped moving at this.

"He's Hiei? Hiei's a _demon_? I thought he used to work for Koenma." Botan nodded at this and it seemed to shock the man.

"Koenma has, had, a demon employee."

"Most of his employees are demons I thought everyone knew that." The man shook his head and said,

"This precinct doesn't really stay in touch with all of the others. So this means we have to help '_it'_?" he nodded toward Hiei.

"I can hear you, you know. And I have no need of your help, just your permission to search around." Botan continued,

"And to get some money, and a place to stay, and can we have a cup of coffee some time?" She gasped and covered her mouth,

"I did not just say that?" She asked with her hands still over her mouth. The man smiled at Botan and answered,

"I will give you a room, some currency, and coffee sounds great. But he cannot be here, I don't trust demons, guilty until proven innocent." He glared at Hiei, hate vary visible in his crystal blue eyes.

"I can see you don't follow the same system as the government here does." The man quirked a brow.

"How do you know about the US law system?" He seemed disgusted to say the least.

"I was there." This was when Botan blurted out,

"Wow, Hiei your old." Hiei sighed and turned around to head back out, but was stopped by Botan.

"Hiei wait, you can't just leave. I mean I'm supposed to go with you to find the demon." She ran up behind him and he stopped.

"Botan, remember we're not going to search for the demon until we get a good idea of this place and where he might be. It's already too late to start now, we both need rest."

"I thought you'd been here before?"

"It was a long time ago, and lot's of things have changed."

"Then why are you leaving?" Hiei turned to face her and quirked a brow.

"I need to vent, that and I'm obviously not welcome here. I'll meet you outside in the morning. You stay and get as much information on where yokai go." Botan nodded and then remembered what it was that Hiei meant by 'vent'.

"Are you sure you'll be all right?"

"Onna, does it look like I was born yesterday?" As he said that he turned around and was out of there. Botan hadn't noticed but his fists had been balled up as he left. He was fighting an internal battle against his demonly desires. He needed to find a place to get through his rut and fast. He had told Botan that they would see each other again in the morning; it was a lie. He didn't want to be near anyone, not in the condition he was in.

He hadn't really cared to notice it but this place was a lot bigger than Japan and it was just a state, a single piece to an even bigger picture. In Japan everything was kind of crammed together, here there were more prairies and farmlands, a lot more open space, there was also a long coast along the west. California, that was what the sign had said when they were arriving at the airport.

He sighed, even though this place was bigger and it's population was a tad smaller than Japans, the humans were spread out. It was hard to find a place were he had enough space and there wasn't a ningen nearby. Then as he marched down a street to see if there was by any chance an abandoned building or tree where he could spend the night, he stepped on a piece of paper, it was a map. Out of ideas and running out of time he picked it up. There was a national park not to far from where he was now. And there were a lot of areas in that park were no humans had been in a long while, the areas were restricted to them. It was just what he needed.

He held his breath and hoped the map wasn't out of date. Then, faster than anyone could even care to notice a twelve year old looking guy walking around a vary dangerous part of town, he had vanished, or seemed to vanish, thanks to his incredible speed. By car it would have taken about two hours of driving, not including traffic, to get to the park. It took Hiei about fifteen minutes, he was faster than your average car, that and he had no need for roads. As the saying said: over the river and through the woods blab-blab something or other blah blah.

He was just halfway there and he could already sense that the map had been right, there were a lot of places where he could tell no ningens had been in a long while. It was perfect for him, there was only one problem; he knew Botan would try to look for him. Then a thought hit him, the talismans. He dug into his pockets; good they were still on him. There were a lot, but only two kinds, both were made to create energy domes. One was designed to hold and the other to hide. It was perfect for the situation he was in.

He continued to fission in and out of sight trying to look for a good amount of area. After a few minutes he found it. Surrounded by trees and well hidden on the mountainside. He stood in the center of the five-mile circle he had chosen. He then held the first set of talismans between his middle and index finger and chanted the words to activate the pieced of paper. It took about a minute for the talismans to absorb enough of his energy to perform their task, and then they flew in opposite directions forming the circle he had chosen. It took twice as long for the second and final set.

By the time the last set had formed the circle the talismans had drained more than two-third of his energy, and they would continue to drain more as more time passed. So right now Hiei stood in the middle of an invisible dome that was slowly draining his energy. He had put himself into a trap, the only one that could disarm the seals now was someone from the outside that knew the chant, and the only one who knew that was Botan. He planed to call her when his rut was over with the communicator she had given him.

With nothing better to do he began to walk around and explore the area where he would be spending the rest of his rut. His energy level had drained to that of a normal human by the time he had realized he had made a mistake. There in his sights, lit by the moonlight, was a house the size of a mansion in the center of a small flat clearing. No one was in it right now but he wasn't sure if anyone would be there later. He cursed as he felt his vision blur into black the last thing he saw, as he fell back was the start of a rainy night.

Even at the energy of average human he couldn't stay conscious, it gave hardly any energy to his slow beating heart that was still accustomed to the energy level of a demon, it would take a long time before it got used to that of a human. So what he needed was rest, whether he wanted it or not. Little did he know that the human owner of the house had stumbled onto him and took him home with it, thinking Hiei was a lost little girl. The first thing the stranger did when it got home was starting a warming fire and then it began stripping Hiei of his wet clothes.

Toni: Heh-heh! Stripping Hiei. /// (Starts thinking naughty thoughts) 

Kevan: Man we need to make one of these with Kurama! I want to see Kurama stripped! Yeah!

Toni: Well I don't know about another story with Kurama as the main character, but I do have a pairing for him in this one.

Kevan: Oh! Oh! Oh! Can we play another game where the readers have to guess who Kurama's paired up with?! Huh? Can we?! Can we?! Huh? Huh? Huh?!

Toni: For sure! Post your answer along with your review.

Kevan: Thanks people-sk.

Toni: See ya in the next chapter!

Both: Later-sk!

6


	6. Chapter 6 Not So Out of Mind

Kevan: Member the game in the last chappy? Well the answer…

Toni: …will be given later on in the story so study up people-sk.

Kevan: Yeah, we'll be throwing out clues for yall to follow.

Toni: The OC you all have been waiting for is here!

Kevan: My baby!

Toni: Our baby! We both worked on him.

Kevan: Yeah but Hiei is yours, this guys mine. So there!

Toni: Your right. Bam-bada-dam bam-bada-bam! (Theme to fox)

Kevan: Ba-da! (squeaky)

Chapter Six

…Not So Out of Mind

Ken had left his home a few weeks back, he had heard that a storm was going to strike the area so he had left to get more supplies that would be needed if the storm lasted long. He had taken trips back and forth from a store a few miles away to his home. He hadn't been able to get back home for a while because of a short stock at the store. He had already taken anything that could last without the refrigerator home, and was now taking the first trip of what he called the perishables straight home to be put into the freezer. He had not planned to trip over a body hiding in the shrubs on his way back home. He hadn't wanted to but had to lug this living person along with his already heavy supplies back home. The good thing was that the body was lighter than he had expected, but it was still more weight on his back.

Once Ken had gotten home he made sure that the person he had taken home was okay. He tried looking for some sort of ID but only found a pouch with the odd peaces of paper and what looked like a compact mirror.

When Hiei had woken up Ken was starting to take of his drenched cloak but stopped when he realized he was awake, as Ken would have finished taking it off but Hiei stopped him by grabbing his arm, recovering some energy, but not enough to move a lot. He then saw Ken about to reach for the radio to call for some help. Not wanting that, using his Jagon, he made the contraption blow up. When Ken looked his way to see if he was okay after the explosion, he had already passed out again drained from using the Jagon. Ken felt pity for what he thought was a kid, he felt responsible for getting the child back home.

His job was as a cameraman for a show called Jackass, but when he was home he was a ranger, in charge for looking for lost people in his area. This was the first case where he had accidentally stumbled upon a lost person not even reported. He had been planning on reporting a lost kid, but his radio had gone cu-put, no, better yet ka-boom. Not really looking forward to tomorrow he put what he thought was a little girl in one of his spare bedrooms after putting the supplies away, then went to bed himself.

The next morning he found himself on the floor and the kid in his bed, Ken had lost count of how many times he had tried to wake, what he thought was a her, up yesterday that he didn't even want to bother today. Hopefully the kid would wake up for breakfast, because that was what he was on his way to make, but first a shower was on top of his list.

Hiei woke up to the sound of running water and a sudden weight on his chest. As he sat up the weight was shifted from his chest to his lap, it was a cat. Not minding the cat Hiei could see he was in a bedroom, the curtains were closed and the lights were off, the only source of light was coming from the room right next to this one. The sound of water and puffs steam was coming from the ajar door. Starting to feel the affects of knowledge of what was in the bathroom, he made his way out of the room, down stairs and eventually to the kitchen, where he made himself at home to recover some energy and cool down inside the fridge.

It didn't take long for Ken to finish his shower. He couldn't help but snicker at the fact that it looked like his cat, Sacrities, had booted the kid of the bed and had taken the much-wanted spot. Then he sighed at the realization that there was a stray kid somewhere in his huge house. He didn't really want that so he threw on a pair of jeans and the first thing he could grab from his shirt drawer, which ended up being a dark grey turtleneck, good for the weather they were in.

Before he went to the kitchen he went to all of the other rooms first to see if his guest was there, no. But when he got to his kitchen he wished that had been the first place he had checked, he might have saved it. Every thing that he had just put in the fridge that day before had now been put on the floor or thankful on the counter. He walked to the dining room to see if the kid might have been hungry and was eating in there, no.

"Strange." He thought aloud as he opened the fridge to see if anything had been left in there. He did a double take at what he saw. The kid had also taken out the shelves so 'he' could fit. He was just sitting there nonchalant. When ken didn't close the door again, Hiei got out strolled over to the freezer, glanced, grabbed a bucket of ice-cream, then a spoon, went to the dining room, plopped down at the table, then began to stick spoonfuls of ice-cream down his mouth.

Ken couldn't stop staring for a few seconds then he started walking to the dining room and stepped on an egg then stopped and started cleaning the mess, figuring the kid must have been starving. Once he was done he sat on the other side of the curved booth that served as the seats for his table. Hiei ignored the human; he was about one-fourth down the ice-cream bucket. Ken just stared trying to figure him out. When he had first glanced at Hiei's face, he had thought he was a 'she', because of his pale skin and slim waist, in short he was tiny in comparison to Ken, and it didn't help that Hiei's cloak looked like a black dress and his communicator looked like a compact mirror. It was strange his eyes were red too, maybe contacts, and his hair, super strong hair gel? The white starburst above his face in his hair, bleach perhaps? What race was he? Japanese, like his ancestors? Does he speak English? Is he lost? Wow he's scarfing that ice cream down as if it were the air that he breathed.

"Don't you get brain freeze?" Ken's question came out. His voice deep and strong, enticing Hiei to freeze.

"No, stop staring." Hiei put on his tough emotionless mask on.

"Sigh good, you speak English." Ken sighed then asked,

"Are you lost or something? I found you passed out in the wood on my way home. Do you want me to take you to town so you can make some calls? I'd offer to use my radio but, it must be your luck, it blew up yesterday, literally. Maybe it spontaneously combusted or something."

He was about to continue his one-sided conversation but Hiei groaned, he was losing control again.

"Shut…up." His words were strained and his eyes were shut in hope to keep the attractive human out of mind. He would have left but he needed to recover his energy.

"Are you alright?" Ken's hand went to Hiei's cheek, to check for a fever.

"My god you're hot! Go lay down on the sofa I'll go get some ice. You should have said you were sick. Good idea eating the ice-cream to cool down your core body temperature." When Ken finished saying all of that Hiei opened his eyes to find Ken had left to get the ice. Hiei just sat there concentrating on keeping in control with the now empty bucket on his crossed legs. Ken came back in with a zip lock bag filled with ice wrapped in a towel and frowned,

"You should be laying down." He grabbed Hiei's arm and easily lifted him he wasn't heavy. Hiei had started to struggle but stopped when he realized his strength hadn't returned yet and that struggling took some concentration away from to control he was trying so hard to keep. Ken touching him didn't help. Not wanting to argue if he didn't have to he laid down where Ken had led him. Ken took the bucket Hiei had still been holding a gasped. Then Hiei tensed as something cold touched his forehead, and something warm landed on his stomach.

"Where did all of that ice-cream go? Do you usually eat this much? How are you so small?"

"Shhh…ut…up, do you ever do that?" Hiei remarked pushing Kens hand away and pulling the towel over his eyes.

"Sorry it's just I talk a lot when I'm worried, are you feeling any better, um, what is your name?"

"Don't worry about it." Hiei grumbled wanting him to leave,

"Don't you have anything better to do?" It was a clear hint.

"No, not as far… oh shit what time is it?" Ken shoved his sleeve back and noticed he had left his watch in his bathroom.

"Shit!" He shot up and ran to the kitchen to check the time on the oven; Hiei sat up a bit to watch as Ken panicked, intrigued.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" He ran back grabbing the huge empty backpack he had used yesterday to get his supplies on his way.

"I was supposed to be gone two hours ago! What in the hell happened to the alarm?" He looked to Hiei who had lain back down and looked as if he had dozed off. He couldn't tell because of the towel.

"Hey, are you awake?" Ken asked kneeling down next to him again. Hiei nodded, then sighed as if annoyed.

"Okay, here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to leave you here. I would have taken you with me, but you're sick so that's not a good idea. Help yourself to food; try not to make a mess this time, please, other than that, make yourself at home. I've got to go get the rest of my supplies. Come to think of it… never mind. Just stay here, I'll be back as soon as I can." Hiei gave no sign that he had heard until he turned over with his back to the human. Hopefully that's a sign that he's going to stay, thought Ken as he got his jacket and waked out of the house.

When Hiei heard the door to the house close he rolled over to lay on his back again. He had wanted the human to leave and stay at the same time. To leave so he could regain control and to stay so he could completely lose it. He had heard what Ken had said but had a totally different reason for ignoring him and turning over. He did it so he could hide his desire for the human; it was obvious that he wanted him because of the growth that showed through the fabric of his pants at the junction of his legs. Hiei groaned as he lifted the cold towel from his eyes and chanced a glance at his crotch. He moaned when he sat up the feel of the cloth was intensified by his sensitive nerves. He couldn't stay here, if this is what happened just listening to a casual, naturally sexy voice, he would be screwed, or better yet screwing.

As Hiei stood up he noticed his reflection, he was covered in dirt and had a random twig in his hair and scarf. Feeling grimy and looking dirty Hiei decided to take advantage of the human's shower. Sure he's a demon but that didn't mean he didn't have hygiene. First he needed to deal with his clothes, it took him a while but he eventually found a washer and dryer. The washer was similar to Kurama's so it was easy for him to figure out how to use it, he didn't even bother with the dryer. Knowing the washer would take a while to finish Hiei set himself up a bath for a much needed and deserved soak.

Once Hiei got out the washer was about half way done. So in nothing but his birthday suit Hiei made himself something to eat. The human's pet seemed to want to eat too, it purred against his leg as he rummaged through the newly organized fridge. Hiei found a nice slab of meat and cooked it with a dash of salt over a fireball he held in his hand. The cat seemed surprised at this and hissed a bit when the fire had come out of nowhere, but then Hiei ripped a piece of meat, handed it to the fussy cat, and all was eventually forgiven and forgotten.

By the time he was done eating there was still some time left for his clothes to be done. This time he went to look around the house, Hiei thought it was too big for one human. He wondered if he lived with his mate. Maybe they had a child, there was what seemed to be a kid's room next to the human's and there were pictures around the house with a little girl in them. This human was unlike what he had imagined, the last time he had dealt with a rich human he had ended up beating him to a pulp because he had kidnapped his sister.

He wondered if she was okay. He hoped she had already gotten over it. She had never really met him so maybe it would be easier for her, unlike him. She probably hated him right now, who would blame her. The whole gang probably hated him right now, for hurting her. He let out a sigh as he heard the buzzer from the washer go of. After getting dressed and drying them himself, with his ki, he left the house, closing the door behind him, for the cat's sake and went out into the wood.

Kevan: Bad Hiei! Your supposed to listen to Ken! He is your master!

Toni: Run! Run with the wind! Run to your hearts content!

Kevan: (whacks Toni across the head) You're a bad influence!

Toni: Don't worry about me! Run! Tell my family I love them, and that my little sis can't have my Manga! I'm taking it with me!

Kevan: (Burps into Toni face)

Toni: (Had mouth open) No cheese. (Gasps)

Kevan: Yes! Taste the stench of victory and my lunch! (Begins victory dance)

Toni: Till next time! Later later!

Kevan: Later-sk!

6


	7. Chapter 7 Memories of Waiting

Toni: Ha I'm first! Nnnnnn! (sticks out tung) :-p

Kevan: I don't remember what this chapter is about. (blunt) But I know it has Ken in it and that makes me so happy-sk.

Toni: --; On with the fic!

Chapter Seven

Memories of Waiting

Ken thought his timing for showing up at home had been perfect; the storm that had been talked about for weeks now was just about to start. He had just finished putting away his supplies and was about to settle down to get to know his guest that would be stranded with him for a couple of days, when he realized his "guest" was no where in sight. He wanted to check all of his rooms before he panicked. He checked all thirteen of them. Now he was panicking, the kid looked around the age of thirteen, maybe fifteen because of his voice. Great now he was stressed out and had to go out into a brewing storm to look for a rebellious Goth child, with ice-cream issues.

Hiei was about a mile and a half away form the human's home when the storm had started. He wished he had grabbed some food before he had left, maybe he wouldn't be so tiered right now if he had. He had been careful to cover his footpath, he wasn't sure if the human knew how to track. He would have gone to the treetops but he barely had the strength to run at a human pace, much less jump up high enough, it didn't help that the trees were sequoias, the lowest branch was about twenty to thirty feet up.

He was looking for a cave he had glanced at when he had passed before he put the talismans up. He knew it was somewhere in the dome he had made. He was hoping it was empty, he needed shelter, and he didn't have enough energy right now to fight a mountain lion or a bear.

It was a few hours, and about another mile, later that Hiei really wished he had stayed at the house with the human, not that he had confronted any beast of any sort. It was a realization that scared him. He had been stumbling through the wood, not even remembering he had been trying to cover his tracks, when he had found two things; one was the cave and two was a frightening fact Koenma had forgotten to mention about the talismans. The closer the one that activated the talismans got to the shield the more it would take from the activator's body. That and he was a demon, the talismans were made to drain the power of the demon trapped in them. He hoped it was only up until his body grew accustomed to the strain of it feeding off of him. In his case it was even worse because the shield was bigger than normal, in this manner more talismans were needed, thereby more energy was needed to keep the dome corporeal.

There was a question that scared him to no end and kept running through his head, his spirit energy was dangerously low, when it ran out, would the talismans take his life energy? A few more hours of waiting in the cave answered that. He was at the edge of consciousness and his last bit of spirit energy taken from his limp body when he felt it. The talismans had tapped into his life energy.

"Fucking baka." He grunted, as he felt his life energy slip away little by little. The last thing he saw before becoming unconscious seemed celestial, but he couldn't tell what it was, the rain had gotten to his eyes and he had a massive headache that was messing with his sight, all he saw was a blur of white, gray, and blue.

Ken had been searching now for four hours. He found himself literally double checking an area he had gone trough over and over again until he was sure that that was the way the kid had left. At first it was really hard to figure out in which direction the kid had left. He didn't really think that it was entirely the storms fault that his tracks were hard to find, the kid knew what he was doing even if he was sick, that and he had had a good two-hour head start.

The further he got, the closer he got to where he suspected the kid was, the more it became obvious that the kid was getting weaker, in fact if was kind of scaring him. In the end tracking had become insanely easy, literally footprints in the mud, leading to a cave and there at the cave was entrance was a black clad figure half leaning against the damp wall.

He had just barely heard what he had said before passing out. The kid was paler than before. He checked his temperature to see if he still had his fever, nope, but he was fringed cold, scary dead body cold. That was probably the storms fault; he hoped it was the storms fault. He grabbed the kid's wrist to check his pulse, he waited and fifteen seconds later he barely got his first bu-bump, another fifteen seconds till that for the next heart beat. Ken held his breath; that was not normal. He checked for the kid's breathing, he figured he could have easily misread the pulse; he sighed in relief as he could feel the slight movement of the kid's chest and the puffs of foggy breath that left his mouth.

Then he carefully lifted him up, Hiei groaned as the movement made his head explode. Ken hesitated.

"Hey kid, can you hear me? I'm going to take you back to my house; you need to get somewhere warm. Can you hear me?" Hiei didn't respond even though he tried. Ken then carefully put one of his arms under the kid's knees and the other arm around his back so his head was resting on his brood shoulder. He needed to get this kid to his house so he could hopefully keep him alive, by some miracle. The way he looked right now it didn't look like he would make it through the night.

It took half the amount of time it had taken to find the kid to get back to the house. The storm had dulled down a bit during the two hour hike back, Ken was glad for this, it would have been harder and taken longer to get back if it hadn't. The entire time he had been caring the small figure he was afraid he was already dead.

To keep himself from having a heart attack he would lower his head so his ear would be level with the kids nose and mouth to check his breathing. He was still respirating and had continued so when he got them to his home. Tiered he laid the kid down on the same sofa he had before; it was the closest piece of furniture he could set him down on without collapsing. Ken was so warn out, he was about to rest where he was, kneeling with his arms next to the kids on the couch, but he noticed something familiar on the kids expression.

Hiei was having a nightmare-ish recap of his life and some visions of the friends he had made taking the places of the demons that chased, tormented and abused him as a child. His sister Yukina being all of the Koorime that called him a beast, a monster and the woman who dropped him off of the isle. Only unlike Rui, who wept at her sin, Yukina had smiled enjoying his suffering.

Ken was panicking again as he was remind of his painful past. Then and now the two situations were eerily alike. No matter what he would not let what happened last time happen again.

A few years ago his girlfriend had invited him to go to a game in San Francisco. He had said he couldn't go, like now a storm had been predicted and he was in charge of the area. She said she understood and before he could say more she hung up on him. He thought she was mad and planned to apologize after the storm. He would make it up to her. He ran his hand across a small case that held and engagement ring he had seen her starring at on of their outings. Now he wished she had been mad, things would have turned out differently. Instead of inviting someone else to go with her to the game, she headed towards his place. With the time it had taken her to get there from San Francisco the storm was at it's peak.

Once the storm had calmed down a helicopter reported to Ken, the static breaking up the message. Either way Ken went getting it was a car wreck and in his territory. How he wished she had been mad at him.

When he got to where the coordinates lead he spotted something gold on one of the lower branches of a small sequoia tree. He grabbed it and kind of recognized it, this one was broken. It used to be a heart pendant on a chain, with one half smaller than the other bigger half that was attached to the chain. He had the bigger half and chain.

Something wet landed on his nose, it was normal after a storm but the liquid was black and smelled like oil. He whipped it off and looked up. A car was squared into a tree pretty high up. The tree was on the passenger side, the drivers seat empty, the seat belt torn.

Then he saw it both on the glass left on the windshield, on the floor at his feet, and in a scattered trail leading away from where he stood. It was blood. He hurriedly followed the path finding blood stained handprints on the trees along the way. On the way he glanced at the broken necklace and put it in his pocket, he wanted to give it back to whom it belonged. He hoped whoever it was, was still alive.

When he did find the source of the blood all he saw was a hand, the rest of the body was hidden from sight behind the tree. He walked around the tree slowly and quietly, so as not to startle the obviously wounded person. At what he saw, he froze. She smiled at him relived, exhausted and probably delusional in her state. Her neck and chest were soaked in blood, long scraped ran along her cheeks and ear. Blood freely flowed from her nick, her jugular had been cut. As ken noticed this he rushed to her side and ripped of his sleeve to slow the bleeding. He sat her up into his arm, still holding pressure on the cut probably caused by the glass. He used his other hand to radio for help, the signal was too weak, he cursed, and she had passed out and was limp against him. He heaved her limp body and started his panicked pace back to his house.

It took a while to get back, he had stopped every now and then to try the radio again, he didn't have the supplies needed to treat her at home. He laid her on the couch and rushed to the main radio in his den, and got a signal. He tried his best to report the situation but in the end ended up just shouting:

"Just quit asking questions and get some medics down here! Now!" With that he ran back to his living room. She was awake, still laying down and petting the pet they had adopted a few months ago. She saw him and smiled weakly.

"Hi, Ken, I'm so glad I found you." She said spiting a little bit of blood afterward.

"Want me to make you happier?" Ken asked failing to hold back a sob and masking it with his own smile. He wanted her to be happy, especially now. She nodded and with that walked to the mantle of his fireplace and grabbed the small box with the ring. He walked back to her and kneeled before her and asked the customary question for this situation. Her smile grew wider and she nodded again. He put the ring on her bloodstained finger and then said,

"You have to make it through this. We have to get married. You have to live and we can have kids and a new house." His tears were flowing from his eyes, his chest was aching, and he was having a hard time talking without just crying.

"You have to live!" he was breaking down now and she didn't seem to hear what he had said, she was holding up her hand and admiring her ring.

"I do." She answered with a weak voice and smile. Her eyes glazed over, her hand went limp on her chest and her breathing stopped.

"No!" Ken was trying to shake her awake. He had been so absorbed in trying to wake her that he hadn't noticed the medics till they pulled him away, and tried to bring her back. Nothing they did worked, she was announced dead at ten AM. She was gone. They took her away in a black bag. Ken lost it, he wished so hard that it had all been a really bad dream and that she had gone to the game hating his guts, but she had not been like that, one of the things he had loved about her.

Now it was similar only he had no clue what was the matter with the boy on his couch, there wasn't a single scratch on him. What ever it was it was internal, he could do nothing but wait and watch. He stayed where he was, kneeled at the couch, all night. When he had seen the boy calm down and slip into a peaceful sleep he did too, but his dreams were of the memories he had brought back to the surface after a long time of trying to forget.

Hiei had been calmed from his nightmare by and outside force. Ken had been holding his hand, but it had been something else too. He had felt a sudden warmth flood him and a vision of a girl came into his mind. He knew what she was but not who.

"What do you want spirit?" Hiei asked coldly, hating the fact that she had most likely witnessed his nightmare. She just cocked her head to the side a bit and smiled deeply. Hiei was somewhat startled by this and even more so when she embraced him, flooding him with more comforting warmth and energy. Her hair was soft in his face, a sandy brown hair. Her beautiful hazel eyes shining and so full of kindness. Hiei couldn't help but relax in her arms; it felt like the right thing to do. He would never admit this to anyone but this is what he always wanted, not power, not riches, he needed those to survive in his world, what he wanted was acceptance and dare he even think it, love. The girl pulled away a little, Hiei looked up at her not wanting her to go. She was real he could tell through her eyes, she truly cared.

"Who are you?" he asked, his words full of curiosity, but his face still emotionless. She put her finger to his lips and gave a soft shushing noise. Hiei blinked as she turned that noise into a humming lullaby. Hiei tried to sit back up and away from her, he wasn't the tad bit used to this and felt uncomfortable now. But she stopped him by running her hands through his hair, relaxing him immediately.

"You can relax, you need to rest." She said sensing his tension. It didn't take long for Hiei to grow accustomed to it and soon he was so relaxed he felt his cold mask slowly fall. The feeling of floating on air comforted him as she continued her lullaby and soon he was in a dreamless sleep. But before he reached the comfortable darkness, she said six last words before disappearing,

"Take care of Ken for me."

Kevan: Sniffle-sniff-sk! I'm so glad I got my spot back!

Toni: And here I thought you were going to be emotional about what we wrote. --;

Kevan: That too. Till next time!

Toni: Yeah right. (sarcastically) Later-sk!


End file.
